Shocked at the cost of tradesman

[Nooooooou]

3 bedroom, average size.

Costs are for labor only... no materials

install laminate wood flooring across house £1.5k to £2.5k (3 quotes were above £2k).
strip wallpaper, skim and paint walls -£3k to £5k.

based in south east..
I think this is really excessive. I think it works out to more than £400 per day.

Do you think they should subsidise you by doing the work for less than they could earn elsewhere?

Honestly OP why are you not doing these things yourself? I admit I wouldn’t attempt plastering, but I’ve managed everything else on your list including flooring. YouTube, middle of Lidl for tools, or tool hire are your friends.
Even if you have good reason, surely it doesn’t all have to be done at once?

I agree. On an hour by hour basis, tradesmen are cheaper than hairdressers, nail technicians, botox/filler professionals, tattooists, personal trainers, etc.

Exactly. I'm self employed and there are lots of costs to factor in.

There does seem to be very poor impressions of the trades these days. People expect them to work for minimum wage and don't want their own children going into the trades, despite them probably out-earning the average person spending 3 years at Uni getting a bog standard degree! Skilled tradespeople used to be well respected and were usually "jobs for life".

I think a lot of the problem is that with the "brain drain" of decent kids going to Uni, it's left a vacuum in the trades which is being filled by unskilled/unqualified glorified "odd job men" doing work for which they're not trained nor experienced, just because of the high demand, low supply, then of course you have the criminal elements too who over-charge for work not done or just plain and simple fraudsters. So people have a poor impression of the "trades" which is why they don't want their precious off spring going to college to learn a trade.

This. Everyone goes into often pretty useless higher education these days, rather than getting a trade.
Good skilled tradesmen are like hen's teeth and charge appropriately.
Garage owner neighbour said he used to get parents coming to him and asking if their sons could be apprentice mechanics, but it never happens anymore and he now struggles to recruit.

You are wanting skilled trades.

Are those prices per room?

Its pretty much impossible to comment without knowing the size of the job but nothing sounds outlandish and why would you expect skilled trades to work on the cheap?

You can always learn to do it yourself.

Unskilled labour in the Midlands is at least £200 a day. Skilled labour in South East is going to be double that. Maybe do some of the work yourself if you don't want to pay for experience and skill.

Strip, skim and paint? Is that the whole house?

You would knock a fair chunk off by stripping and painting yourself. Stripping is a pain but I wouldn't pay somebody and painting freshly skimmed walls is very easy.

If you think their skill is so little, do the work yourself.

That sounds perfect to reasonable to me 🤷‍♀️

Yes it's absolutely insane and it's thanks to bloody brexit.
I recently found a retired man who can do everything and he's £20 per hour, (£160 per day). It's taken me a year to find him, and it came through word of mouth in the end

Cost of materials has escalated all over Europe and worldwide. That is the global crisis not Brexit.

what for the full house! I dont think that is bad at all! But dont put laminate down, you will regret it!

If the day rate's £400, why are people suggesting that's £45ph unless they somehow think the tradie will work for 9 hours each day?

Maybe some do, but while I've luckily got a selection of them I use regularly - and who work and charge reasonably - anyone new tends to expect to start at 10 and finish at 3, and that's after insisting they'll do "a full day"

Mine have always done 8 hours days, so maybe it is closer to £50 than £45. But, they have often had time to go to a depot, collect materials etc before coming to my house. That is working time in my view.

Well, yes. That’s about right - you’re paying for their skill firstly, then all the things that come with their own business! As PPs have said, you could always do it yourself? Or you could pay your tradesmen for their time and competence, it’s up to you!

YaBU I think .we need some work and I am thinking 3 to 5 k ,paining and including ceilings and doors this seems OK to me .also SE.whenever we have done it ourselves it sometimes does it back ! People say its so expensive, I could do it myself but don't. Mess ,paint everywhere ,smell .I could go on .just pay the man!

They have to pay insurance, tax, NI, pension contributions

Everybody has to pay tax, NI, pension contributions.

Op theres a shortage of tradespeople and has been for ages so they can charge what they they like and do.

Afternoon piss ups in Spoons won't pay for themselves OP.

The pure fact that it took you a year to find someone so desperate for work that they took it on at well below the market rate just shows that it isn’t insane.

Watch you don’t fall there!

The plastering quote is about right. We paid similar over 3 years ago (5k) which included materials and since then it’s gone up massively with inflation.

its just really expensive to get anything done now. The materials have gone mad in price too. I wouldn’t buy a house that needs loads of work anymore coz I think it costs too much to do!

@SofiewooHe’s not some desperate retiree, he just genuinely enjoys the work. Unlike the little princes charging £250–400 a day for absolute shite craftsmanship.
@C8H10N4O2 Yes, Brexit had a part to play, trades left, creating massive demand and shortage of supply

As well as the cost it would be nice if they actually bothered sending a quote when they say they will. If they don't want the job just say rather than leaving it. I'd recommend someone who is honest enough to say no thanks but not someone who can't be bothered to respond when they've looked at a job.